


I Give You My Heart

by evabellasworld29



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Drama, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bigotry & Prejudice, Bodyguard, Bodyguard Romance, Child Soldiers, Clone Wars, Explicit Language, F/M, Family Fluff, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Jedi Knights (Star Wars), Mutual Pining, Planet Pantora (Star Wars), Politics, Protective Siblings, Secret Relationship, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love, Siblings, Slurs, Twins, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:20:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 18,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27381844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evabellasworld29/pseuds/evabellasworld29
Summary: When Riyo Chuchi's life was threatened, Commander Fox and Jedi Knight Ava Lira and Eva Bella Young are assigned to bring the senator back to her home planet Pantora, where she will be safe from harm. But when the assassin knows her whereabouts, it's up to Fox, Lira, Eva, and Riyo to work together and stop the assassin.
Relationships: CC-1010 | Fox & Original Female Character(s), Riyo Chuchi & CC-1010 | Fox
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

Navigating through the corridors of the Senate building, a short, violet-haired, Pantoran woman with two light green markings on her cheeks, which she inherited from her family. Both of her parents were rice farmers, and she spent most of her time growing up in the countryside, surrounded by rice fields, buffaloes, eels and mud.

Despite her upbringings, both Riyo’s parents taught her well with mannerism and how to treat others, no matter the colour of their skin or their background.

This was proven when Riyo and her fellow senators, Padmé Amidala of Naboo, Bail Organa of Alderaan, Bibi Haizan of Shili, and many others as well. Being close to Commander Fox, who led the Coruscant Guards, Riyo is determined to fight for their rights to be recognized as sentients.

As she arrived in front of Cantham House, which was located in the left-wing of the Senate building, Riyo gave a soft knock on the door. “You may enter,” a male voice replied to her, which the young senator could note as Bail Organa. The sliding door hissed by itself, and she took a step inside the radiant office, with her colleagues all seated.

“Good morning, senators,” Riyo bowed, as she sat between Padmé and Bibi.

“Morning, Riyo,” Bibi greeted her, in a gruff voice. “I’m glad you could make it to our meeting.”

“Of course, Bibi. This meeting is crucial for us if we want the Clone Rights Act to be passed in the Senate.”

“It’s true,” Mon Mothma of Chandrila spoke, her hands placed on top of her knees, which was covered in her loose, white robe. “Especially during the course of the war, where we witnessed hundreds and thousands of clones killed during the battle.”

“It is crucial that in these times that we need the bill to be passed or more clones would be killed and mistreated underneath our nose.”

"That is correct, Riyo," Bibi slurped her glass of water. "Just last week, I overheard Chae complain to Commander Thorn that she was harassed by some senator while she was making her rounds."

"I heard about that incident," Padmé pointed out. "A lot of female clone troopers have reported similar incidents as well. It seems that the public had viewed them as hypersexual, animalistic beings, which can be linked to harassment, or worse."

"The same can be said about the men as well," Bail added on. "Those prejudiced stereotypes were the main reason why many women felt uncomfortable around these soldiers, even when it has been proven false. Kinda ironic, huh? People stay away from male clone troopers but at the same time, they lust over female clone troopers."

"That's not a good sign," Riyo spoke. "And this needs to change. From how much I spend my time with Commander Fox, Lip, and Yves, I want the public to know that they are capable of having their own complex thoughts and feelings as well. It would be a bad look to the Separatist if we continued to disregard the clones as sentient beings”

“And unfortunately, Riyo, the Separatist has already thought of us this way,” Mon sighed in disappointment. “There were many systems that left the Republic due to the growing dissatisfaction against the clone army and the corruption within the system. If we want to win the system back, we will have to pass a law that will benefit everyone, not just the top one per cent of the population.”

“Hear, hear,” Padmé smiled, as she raised her glass with the other senators. Riyo couldn’t contain her smile as she realized that her dream of getting a bill to the Senate has finally come true, well, almost came true, to be precise. She is one hundred percent confident that the Chancellor and the rest of the senators will listen to her reasons and pass this bill as soon as possible.

If the Clone Rights Act is to be passed, the future of clone troopers will be changed. They would be paid for their services in the Grand Army of the Republic, they would be treated fairly like citizens, and they would be actions against those who treated the clones like crap. Her connection with the Marshall Commander of Coruscant Guard, Fox.

An honourable man, he and Riyo met when she was recently elected as a senator of the Outer Rim planet. She was lost at first, being born in the outskirts of Pantora, but with a bit of his help, and her colleagues, she managed to not only navigate through Coruscant, but her career as a senator as well. 

She learned to find her own voice after what happened on the moon of Orto Plutonia, where Riyo had to stop the fighting between the Talz, her people, and the Republic troops as well. The battle may have only lasted for a day, but she cannot deny that there was bloodshed and that people have died in an unnecessary conflict.

Sometimes, Riyo wishes that she had stood up to the Chairman sooner, but at the same time, she took that as a lesson that she learned during her career. She learned that if she stood idly by and let evil prevail around her, she would eventually be desensitized by her surroundings.

It was the truth for most senators who served the Galactic Republic. At first, they had a huge passion inside their heart and promises that they would make for their people on their home planet. But when they start seeing gold, they forget their duty. Consumed with greed, corruption and wealth, they take advantage of their privilege and use them for their own selfish consumption.

Riyo had seen plenty of politicians who were overcome by their lust for treasure and glory. She had once witnessed a senator from a mining system who tried bribing one of the Guards, before he was arrested for attempted bribery. In another incident, a perverted senator had shown a huge amount of credit to Lip, but she tackled him. Unfortunately, due to the senator’s high status, he was let go while Lip was assigned to a menial task for a week.

Remembering all of this, she felt her stomach twist inside her. _Where is the democracy that we all know and love? What happened to serving the people? What has become of us, the public servants, who once had dignity within ourselves?_

She prays to the moon goddess of Loona that there are senators that have a sense of humanity inside. She hopes that they are conscious enough to vote for the Clone Rights Act, otherwise, she may or may not lose her faith in the Republic. 

After a year has passed, the war has grown brutal and the Chancellor of the Republic, Sheev Palpatine has gained more and more power for himself, which worries some senators like Riyo herself.

"Well then, senators," Bibi stood up from her seat. "I should head back to my office, y'know, to prepare ourselves for the next Senate meeting."

"Of course, Bibi," Riyo nodded. "I hope to see you at the meeting."

"You too, Riyo. It's nice interacting with y'all."

As the mint green Togruta was about to step out of Bail Organa's office, the door burst into an explosion, pushing back the senators in the room. 

Riyo found herself on the carpeted floor, her ears ringing. Her lilac hair was covered in dust and the remains of the wall, and she felt a bit of metallic taste on her lips.

She could hear Padmé's faint voice in the background as she carried herself, her left foot wobbling. She rubbed her throbbing head and felt something on her ear, prompting her to check.

A thick, warm, red liquid was on her blue fingertips, making her eyes widen. "Bibi!" she shouted, noticing Padmé, Bail and Mon getting up. "Bibi, where are you?"

"I found her," Bail pointed out, pushing away the debris from the Shili senator. Her eyes were closed and her forehead was bleeding, along with her robe covered with dust.

"Could someone please call for help?" Mon Mothma coughed, covering her nose and mouth with her cloth. "We have an emergency right now."

"I'll do that," Riyo volunteered, walking towards the door. "I know a few people who could help us."


	2. Chapter 2

A trooper with red-painted armour rushed through the corridors of the medbay, filled with nurses and doctors going in and out, pushing their patients to another room for further treatment. She tries to be more patient as she has a lot of things on her mind right now, such as reporting to Commander Fox about the current status of the Senate building and the paperwork that she was due next week.

Chae took a deep breath underneath her helmet and pushed herself through the crowd, searching for the hospital ward that her superior officer had told her to meet up at. She had a lot of things to do, but since Fox insisted on meeting her at the hospital, she doesn't have that much of a choice anyways since she has to follow orders that are given to her.

Arriving at room number 1296, she knocked on the door. One of the nurses, who had brown eyes and brown skin, opened the door for her, her checklist in her hand. “Can I help you?” she asked. 

“I was told that a friend of mine is getting her treatment in this room,” Chae told her nurse. “Her name is Senator Chuchi.”

“Ah, yes, she’s in this room right now,” she smiled. “Please, have a seat first. We can only have one visitor at a time.”

“Of course, miss,” Chase nodded, as she sat down and took off her helmet, revealing her black, curly hair with white streaks. She leaned against the wall and placed her left leg on her right knee, her eyes closed. 

For a moment, she found herself floating in space, with only her armour and her hair flowing in gravity. She glided her eyes around her new surroundings, wondering whether she’s actually in space or not. Taking a deep breath, Chae flew upwards and felt the thousand stars within her fingertips. She soon found herself floating in the sea of colourful smokes, staining her armour.

She doesn’t mind, though, since she never got a chance to choose her own colours. As a Coruscant Guard, she didn’t have any choice on having her own interest and hobbies outside her duty. Chae was able to hold her paintbrush correctly and analyze the meaning behind every painting in the art museum and the hallways of the Senate building, but she never got to utilize them when she had to pain her brand-new set of Phase 2 armour.

Chae wonders about the galaxy and how they get their colours, but because the Chancellor always insisted on how her armour is painted, she lost the opportunity to paint the nebulas and supernovas and even the black hole. She had the chance to colour them on the walls of the barracks and her own bunk, since she sleeps there after duty.

“Chae,” she heard someone shaking her shoulder. The black-haired clone gasps and opens her eyes, only to find Commander Fox standing in front of her. 

“Commander,” she sprung from her seat, giving him a salute. “I was told that I have to meet you here, sir.”

“Yeah, I did,” he answered. “I called you here to give me an update about the situation in Cantham House. Have you had anything so far, trooper?”

“From our investigations, we found traces of tripwires that were attached to the entrance, which was what triggered the bomb in the first place.”

“Tripwires, eh? That is surprising, to say the least.”

“I agree, commander. Someone must have thought this through and attached tripwires all over the door, which is difficult to do so, actually.”

“That is true,” he sighed, his hands on his hips. “Whoever done this must have known about the senator’s meeting.”

“But who could have done such a thing, commander?” Chae asked, confused. “Senator Organa, Senator Amidala and Senator Chuchi were friendly to everyone they met, including clones as well.”

“I suspect one of their rivals,” Fox could only guess. “For all I’m aware, most politicians are always scheming and would do anything to gain more power, even to the point of eliminating their opponents.”

“But why, sir? They served the Republic and their people, so shouldn’t they be working together to make things better for the public?”

That is the biggest lie that Fox had ever heard as the Marshall Commander of the Coruscant Guard. “Unfortunately, Chae, not everyone is selfless in their duty. Some made the decision to ignore the people they represent and instead pursue something that is only temporary, such as credits.”

Chae could only frown by his remarks, but she admitted that he has a good point. “But I know not all senators are like that,” she tried to be optimistic. “I mean, Senator Chuchi always defends us whenever someone is picking on us clones.”

His heart flutters whenever one of his vods mentions her name and yet, he remains unemotional on the outside. “In her case, I would make it an exception. She’s one of the senators that held tight on her principles and her morals, and in this age, that is admirable.”

“It is, sir,” Chae gave a nod. “Oh, there’s one more thing. Jay and Eren have checked the security footage and so far, we’ve found nothing.”

“Well, that is unfortunate but I’m sure we’ll find something eventually,” he answered, before turning his back towards the door. “You may return to your duty, trooper. Let me know if something comes up, alright?”

“Sir, yes, sir,” Chae acknowledged, as she walked away from her superior in what seems to be a half-empty hallway, with only nurses and staff pacing back and forth, with a datapad in their hands. Fox went inside room 1296, where Riyo was sitting on the hospital bed, her forehead covered in bandages and there was a small cut underneath her golden eyes.

“Anything so far?” she asked, as Fox sat beside her, taking off his helmet, revealing his looks. Like his brothers, he had dark brown eyes and tanned skin, along with black, curly hair, with white streaks beside his ears, which he didn’t dye them, unlike Chae. He also had eye bags from filling up paperwork late at night in his small office, which he’s used to it.

“My troops found some tripwires attached to the door,” he told her the truth. “But so far, we didn’t find who was responsible for the bombing.”

“I don’t believe it,” her eyes widened. “Who would have the right mind to place tripwires in front of Senator Organa’s office?”

“I’m also asking the same question to myself as well. How is it possible that there were tripwires when there was no sight of the suspect.”

“Well, I’m glad the rest were okay,” Riyo changed the subject. “Except for Bibi, though. I heard that she’s still unconscious.”

“I’m sorry for your friend,” Fox expressed his sympathy. “I know what it’s like seeing your friend getting hurt and not being able to do anything about it. Sorry if I’m rambling something out of topic.”

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong,” she assured him. “I’m just grateful that you understood what I’m going through right now.”

He let out a soft snicker, much to Riyo’s confusion. “Did I say something strange?”

“No, of course not,” Fox denied, waving both his hands. “It’s just that you said that I understood what you were going through right now.”

“Is there something wrong with what I said, Fox?”

“No, nothing wrong, Riyo,” he stuttered a little. “I’m just surprised, that’s all.”

Riyo’s lips tightened at his harsh words about himself. “Has anyone ever told you about your soft side?”

“Only my brothers and sisters, and even then, they had to try hard enough to let me out of my shell.”

“That sounds like a typical sibling relationship, don’t you think?” she giggled politely. Fox curled his lips upwards as he recalled the antics that Tori would pull on him whenever he’s occupied with his assignments, from purposely mispronouncing his names to roasting him until it makes his tongue-tied. Despite that, he misses her occasionally and would take the chance to spend some time with her if she’s on shore leave, of course.

“Yeah, that’s what siblings do,” he shrugged. “Do you have any siblings, Riyo?”

Before she could answer him, Fox’s comlink went off, leaving him groaning for his life. “Commander Fox here,” he replied. 

“Sir, the Chancellor would like to meet with you,” one of his subordinates informed him. “It’s regarding the bombings in Cantham House.”

“Roger that, Robin. Commander Fox out.”

Riyo frowned as he stood up and grabbed his helmet, putting it on his head. She didn’t want to see him go, but at the same time, she didn’t want to stop him from doing his duty to protect Coruscant from more harm. “I’ll see you later,” she stared at him, longing for Fox to stay for a while.

“I hope so,” he replied, as he left her hospital room, leaving Riyo in a quiet, blank room, which was devoid of colours and warmth.


	3. Chapter 3

“Commander Fox,” Palpatine called him, smiling from ear-to-ear. “I see you are here to update me about this dire situation we’re having in Cantham House. Such a shame that Senator Haizan suffered from the worst injury Isn’t that right, commander?”

Fox sighed at his words, and hoped that the Chancellor didn’t notice his frustrations. “Yes, Chancellor,” he answered. “Besides Senator Haizan, Senator Organa, Senator Amidala, Senator Mothma and Senator Chuchi has also suffered injuries from the blast, though it was minor and non-threatening.”

“Yes, of course,” he turned his back from Fox, facing the view of the Coruscanti view from his office, which was on the highest floors of the Senate building. “They were good senators, who served their home world well. I was surprised when they were targeted.”

Fox snickered to himself at his remarks. For one year, he has been going back and forth and risked his dear life to protect the senators from imminent danger, especially Riyo Chuchi. 

The first time he laid his eyes on her, she was fresh out of Pantoran University, graduating with a first-class degree in law. Unlike most senators, who were stuck-up towards clone troopers, Riyo gave him a polite greeting, even letting him assist her whenever she ran into some issues that she faced, such as the sliding door incident.

Being only a senator who came from a lower-class family, Fox could relate with what she has to go through with the other senators, except for Senator Amidala. He finds her tolerable, though he wished that she doesn’t rush herself into danger. Fox’s hair even grayed prematurely whenever he had to escort her anywhere, even in Naboo.

But Riyo, on the other hand, he enjoys her company. He recalled one moment when the Pantoran senator accidentally knocked him against the door, causing him a mild nosebleed. She had to wipe the blood off him and loaned him her scarf for a while, which he eventually returned a week after he got them hand washed. 

He focused back on the Chancellor, who was expecting an immediate answer from him. “I wouldn’t be surprised that Senator Organa had political rivals, considering the dire situation in the war right now.”

“Senator Organa, having enemies?” Palpatine acted surprised, which Fox could tell from the tone of his voice. “I could hardly believe it, considering that he was well-mannered and persuasive in his speech.”

“There will always be people in the Senate who have bad intentions, Chancellor. Believe me, I had a fair share of incidents with them.”

“I doubt that they had ill intentions against your troops, commander,” he gleamed. “I know everyone in the Senate hall and I find them welcoming and friendly, regardless whether you are a clone or a Jedi, or even the cleaners.”

Fox sighed, knowing that there was nothing he could do to stop the harassment that his brothers and sisters had to face whenever they’re on duty. Just last week, he caught one of the senators exposing himself towards Lieni, who was making her rounds in the Senate building. And a few days ago, his brother Bean was hurled insults after insults that he ended up crying underneath his helmet. The commander had to comfort them and keep them company until the next day, hoping no harm would come to them.

No matter how much he tried to fight for them, all of his efforts were fruitless. He felt that nothing can be done for Lieni and Bean to get the same rights as a Republic citizen, until Riyo showed up in his office one day, with a datapad held close to her chest. 

_ “Well, Fox,” he recalled their conversations together in his office. “I’ve noticed that your brothers and sisters were having a hard time putting up with the senator’s attitudes and harassment, so I thought that maybe we should form a bill that will benefit the clones well to make life more fulfilling for them. What do you-” _

_ “I don’t think the Senate will pass the bill,” he shook his head.  _

_ Riyo felt tongue-tied at his cynical remarks on her plans. “Fox, I’m being serious right now. In the eyes of the Republic, clones aren’t seen as sentient at all. You and your siblings don’t have any rights at all, which makes you property of the Republic.” _

_ “I don’t see a problem with that, senator,” he slurped his caf, which was as black as his soul. “The Kaminoans made us this way through their training. We clones just have to get used to it.” _

_ “But don’t you want a better life for you and your siblings?” she raised a question. “Aren’t you sick of your sisters getting ogled by those perverts in the Senate buildings? And how about your brothers? I heard that they were always getting pushed by those lousy senators if things don’t go their way?” _

_ Riyo was right about Fox’s sick feeling towards those who are willing to hurt his brothers and sisters. He’s tired of dealing with his sisters who kept crying of getting forced to do unsavoury things with them. He’s also tired of sending his brothers to the med bay to get treated for their bruises on their face or their body. Fox wants things to get better for them, but it’s an impossible feat. _

_ “I’ll think about it,” he gave her a brief answer, which Riyo replied with a simple ‘yes’ and left his office. _

He felt a tinge of regret for disappointing his good friend, but at the same time, he just doesn’t know what to say. Clones being recognized as a citizen of the Galactic Republic? That wasn’t what he was taught. He was just a machine that was meant to kill and die in the battlefield.

In Fox’s case, he was just a machine that was made to put up with bantha shit from senators and people on the streets. He was also made to sign paperwork after paperwork, which made his pass out more frequently.

Thorn and Thire persuaded him to relax once in a while, but Fox find it impossible. Even Lip and Yves, who served under his command, told off their superior officer more than once. 

“Of course, Chancellor,” he answered, snapping himself back to reality. 

“Good,” Palpatine gave a smug, making his goosebumps sprouts on his skin. “I hope we find whoever is responsible as soon as possible.”

“Yes, Chancellor,” he bowed to him as he got up and left his office. _Well, at least I survived my meeting with the Supreme Chancellor,_ he thought, as he poured himself another cup of coffee. He grabbed his datapad that was placed on the desk and went through the report that was submitted by Chae.

_Nothing new so far,_ he read. _The only thing we found was tripwires that were placed in front of the door. Security has found nothing so far. That’s all I can write, for now._

As he grabbed his digital pen, Fox heard his office door hissed opened, revealing to be his fellow commander, Thorn. “Heya, Foxy,” he beamed, much to Fox’s annoyance.

“For the last time, it’s Fox, not Foxy,” he corrected his brother. 

“Whatever, Foxy, there’s no difference anyways,” Thorn took off his helmet, revealing a scruffy-looking clone trooper, with winged-pattern on both sides of his unkempt hair. “So, how was your girlfriend?”

Fox gave him a blank stare through the visor of his helmet. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You’re such an idiot, Foxy,” laughed Thorn. “I’m talking about Senator Chuchi. She was injured by that blast in Senator Organa’s office.”

The Marshall Commander felt his cheek hot by that remark. “Senator Chuchi and I are just friends. You’re being ridiculous.”

“You may be a good liar, Foxy, but I can tell that you have feelings for her.”

“If you don’t have anything important to say, then please get the fuck out off my office,” Fox growled, much to Thorn’s amusement. “I’m trying to do my job here.”

“If you insist, Commander,” Thorn grabbed his helmet and gave him a small salute, leaving him in peace. He took a deep breath and sat down, skimming through the report over and over again. This wasn’t the first time that Riyo was targeted for assassination. Neither was it for Senator Organa and Senator Amidala.

He was assigned to protect them from harm on more than one occasion, especially Riyo Chuchi, since she appeared timid and unable to stand up for herself. But Fox knows her more. He had witnessed her giving a speech in the Senate floors. He had seen her standing up towards anyone who dares to mistreat him and the rest of the Coruscant Guard. Hell, he even saw her gripping on a pistol more than once.

Still, the thought of leaving Riyo alone in her hospital ward doesn’t sit well with him. The assassin hasn’t been caught yet. Chae reminded him that they haven’t found any footage of the person responsible for the blast. As long as they’re still out there, Riyo and the rest of the senators affected by the blast must be protected at all cost. God forbid if they try to lay their fingers on these good senators, especially Riyo.

He opened his drawer and grabbed his comlink as quick as lightning. “Lip, you and Yves in my office right now. I have a mission for you both.”


	4. Chapter 4

Scratching below her chin, Riyo stared at the checkerboard as Fox glanced at her, tapping his fingers on the lamp table. She moved her eyes around the board and focused on his chess piece, which the queen. According to her knowledge, the queen is the most powerful piece in chess and could eliminate hers if she’s not careful.

Chess has always been a favourite game, especially when she’s playing with her parents. Her mother, who was descended from nobles, would emphasize the importance of playing chess and how it is applicable in life, especially law and politics.

“In your career, you must learn to study your opponents in order to push yourself to success,” Riyo recalled her advice. “If you give away your position, they will take advantage of you and pounce on you like feral dogs when they see the chance. That is the first rule of law and politics, never open up your vulnerabilities to others, no matter how nice they seem.”

It was ironic, really, because Riyo finds herself opening up to Commander Fox, despite her mother’s warning when she delved into politics. He was no politician, only a soldier bred for war. He doesn’t take bribes or cheat or even tell a lie just for his personal reasons. No, that’s not Commander Fox that Riyo knows. The Commander Fox that she knows was honourable, brave, and honest, and right now, he’s waiting for her next move in the game.

“Are you going to move or what?” Fox groaned, resting his face on his palms. “I’ve been sitting here for hours, waiting for you to move your chess piece.”

“My apologies for keeping you waiting, Fox,” Riyo let out a chuckle as she moved her pawn sideways, taking the queen out of the game. Fox’s eyes widened as he watched Riyo placing his chess piece beside her on the lamp table, with the other pieces that she had taken from the board.

He grunted as he desperately counted his chess piece that was left on the board, with only his king, his knight, his bishop, and his rook spared, for now. Since this was the first time he’s playing this game with someone else, it’s no surprise to him that he would lose to a senator, who was born at the rice farm and was formally educated at a prestigious law school.

Despite that, Fox is determined to win this game, even when the outcome is not in favour of him. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and took a deep breath as he pushed his rook forward, pushing away one of her pawns. “Your turn, senator,” he reminded her, giving her a cocky grin.

Riyo could only let out a mischievous grin as she moved her queen sideways, facing his king. “Checkmate,” she declared, making Fox’s smile disappear. “You should move your king to a safer place.”

Fox blinked and sighed sheepishly as he moved his king one step away from the queen, only for Riyo to gestured her head at his chess piece. “My rook is a few steps away from you.”

“Goddammit,” he whined as he moved his king to his right, only to notice her knight, that could ambush him in an L-shaped. Fox felt a drip of sweat on his forehead. With nowhere for his king to move on the board, the only thing he could do now was to admit defeat towards his opponent, who he also finds intelligent, something that most senators, besides Senator Amidala and Senator Organa. “Alright, Riyo, you won. Congratulations on your victory in chess.”

“Why thank you, kind sir,” she smiled to herself, as she placed the board away, adjusting her legs that are buried underneath a thin blanket. “You were good too, just need a bit more practice, yeah?”

“I guess you're right,” he got up, helping her to pack the board game for her since she needed plenty of rest from the blasts. “Anyways, how are you holding up so far? Good, bad, or neutral?”

“More on the bad side, unfortunately,” Riyo sighed. “I can't help but worry about my friends, especially Bibi. I want to wish that she was alright, but at the same time, I feel like she may not be able to make it through, considering the blast was...well, intense.”

Fox tightened his lips as he sat beside her and squeezed her hand, much to her delight. “I understand where you are coming from, Riyo, but worrying too much won't do any good to you. You need to relax if you want to get better as soon as possible.”

“I know, Fox,” she squeezed his hands back. “But I can't help it, especially since it was rather unexpected.”

“Yeah, it was. I didn't think that the assassin would be smart enough to put a bomb in the Senate building, especially if it's a tripwire, you know. We're trying to figure out how did that person snuck in, or how did they set the bomb, but so far, there was nothing.”

“It's a shame, huh? There are people willing to let go of their morals just to gain some credits, even when they know they are in the wrong.”

“Yeah, it is. I guess assassins and politicians are no different, except for their willingness to get their hands dirty. While bounty hunters and assassins would openly admit that they killed someone, senators cower when things don't go their way, no offense to you, Riyo.”

“None was taken, actually,” Riyo chuckled. “You have a good point there. It is unfortunate that those same senators who swore to serve their people are the ones who won't hesitate when they accept luxury gifts in exchange for selling off their soul.”

With all the talks of negativity between the both of them, Riyo felt like changing the subject instead just to ease her worries about Bibi, whom she heard she's in a critical condition from one of the nurses that served her with kindness. “Anyways, how are you and your siblings? I heard from Lip that your duty as a Coruscant Guard has expanded. Is that true?”

“Yeah, it has,” he nodded. “The Chancellor wanted us to take most of the Senate Guards' duty since there was a spread of corruption within their ranks.”

“I hope you are getting yourself a good rest, Fox,” she advised him. “Yves told me that she caught you dozing off in your office a few nights ago. Are you alright?”

“Well, the Chancellor gave me a massive pile of paperwork yesterday for me to complete them by this week. I ended up dozing while I was doing half of them, and then Yves woke me up.”

“Oh dear, please don’t overwork yourself, Fox. You need to rest if you want to perform well in your job.”

“I just can’t help it, Ri. If I don’t get all of my paperwork done, then I have to deal with the consequences of the Chancellor himself, and you know how he is.”

“He is particular in every paperwork we sent,” she sighed. “And if it's not perfect, he'll ask us to do it again, until he is satisfied with his answer. But he won't say it directly to your face, though, he would be-”

“Subtle about it,” he finished her sentence, letting out a chuckle. “Yeah, I know how things work when it comes to the Chancellor.”

“At least he's tolerable, unlike most senators I've worked with.”

Fox doubted Riyo's words, but then again, she is a sentient being. The Chancellor puts on a charade and acts all nice to the senators and the Jedi, but when it comes to the Corrie Guards, well, things could have been worse for him and his siblings.

Before he could utter a word, his comlink beeped, prompting him to pick it up. “Lip, anything so far?”

“Sir, you have to get Senator Chuchi out of here,” the trooper warned him. “There is an assassin in his hospital.”

“What the-” Fox exclaimed, springing out from his seat. “Where is he?”

In a moment, there was a red dot pointed on Riyo's chest, prompting him to shield the senator in his embrace. The windows shattered as the wall was shot with a sniper rifle.

Riyo finds her breathing turning rapidly as she holds her grasps around Fox's arms, praying that she doesn't get hit by her killer-for-hire. 

It felt like a second to be discovered and almost get her own life taken away. She could do nothing but to get herself to safety and hope for the best. But at the same time, she worries about Fox.

What if Fox gets himself killed while he catches the killer? She thought as she saw the nurses rushing inside her ward, wondering whether she is alright.

“The killer is in Level 39 of the Enterprise Tower,” Fox commed his troops. “All squad, set your weapon to stun and reprimand this suspect immediately.”

“What about you, Commander?” Riyo asked, addressing him by his rank. 

“I'll be taking you to safety, Senator, now come on.”


	5. Chapter 5

Setting her blaster to stun as her commander ordered, Lip and Yves ran out of the hospital room with the rest of the troops. 

Underneath her helmet, her face tensed as they spotted Riyo's shooter on the edge of the building in front of the hospital. 

The building was enormous like the rest of the Coruscanti skyscrapers, except for its oddly cone-shaped, indicating to the locals that it has been there for a long time before the clone army was conceived.

Lip was born on Kamino like the rest of her brothers and sister but was dispatched to Coruscant along with Yves after the completion of their training.

With dark skin and black curly hair like the rest of her sisters, she gained her nickname due to her obsession with red lipstick, which her batchmates teased her for. Despite that, Lip had earned her commander's trust along with her best friend, Yves, and allowed them to perform a risky job, knowing that they would get it done on time.

“Lip,” Yves called her through their comm, grabbing her attention. She glanced at her sister, who was racing beside her with her weapon at all. “I need you to get to the lift area and ambush our assassin.”

“But what about you, Yves?” she asked. “What are you going to do?”

“I’ll catch up,” Yves answered. “Besides, you’re one of the fastest among us.”

Lip let out a snort and gave her a nod, as she rushed inside the building and headed into the emergency stairs, despite being told to use the lift instead. As a Coruscant Guard who had experiences with apprehending assassins and bounty hunters alike, she knows that they would never use the lift as a way to escape since it makes it obvious to everyone else.

Instead, they would escape through the stairs or the vent, where it is harder to be pursued by their would-be captors. The first time Lip had to deal with a bounty hunter was almost a year ago, when the senators were taken hostage by Cad Bane and the gang in exchange for the release of Ziro the Hutt.

None of her siblings died, but they felt humiliated for having to stand down against Cad Bane on that day. To Lip, she would rather die with dignity than to live with her failures. And what’s worse, Chancellor Palpatine told them to let them be, despite the fact that they almost caught him. 

Taking a few steps on the stairs, the clone trooper huffed and puffed as she climbed towards the top of the building, determined to catch the thief. She wanted Yves to tag along since she finds her better at catching criminals. To her view, Yves was bold and daring who goes to great lengths to catch their suspect, while Lip just plays it safe and only resorts to risky methods if it’s necessary. Without her, the only thing that Lip is capable of is her speed and agility.

Floor by floor, Lip felt that her heart was palpitating as her breathing quickened, feeling a sharp pain in her abdomen as if she was being stabbed with a knife. She was stabbed before, of course, since she had to deal with underworld criminals on more than one occasion, and she wished that the pain would go away right now.

_Come on, Lip,_ she told herself. _You can do this. You survived the knife attack by that lunatic in the alleyway before. Hell, you even find yourself face-to-face with Cad Bane. Of course, you could run to the top and catch a lowlife who tried to murder Senator Chuchi?_

Senator Chuchi was one of the senators that she comes to respect and admire, besides Senator Amidala and Senator Organa. To her, Riyo Chuchi was the one who would politely greet her in the hallways as she was doing her patrols. She was also the one who brought them Pantoran sweets which Lip finds herself savouring along with sweet goodies. Heck, Riyo was the one who stood up for her when some creep was caught staring at her rear.

Her fist clenched when she heard that someone would go that far to hurt Senator Chuchi, who was nothing but pleasant to everyone she meets, including the clones. Being a senator does bring unpleasant attention through harassment and assassinations, but it makes Lip sick to the stomach that someone would go great lengths to hire someone to kill her.

She tried to find answers on who would do such an appalling act against her, but right now, she has to focus on catching the assassin so that she could get answers from them. _Who hired you? Why did you try to kill Senator Chuchi? How did you plan to kill her in the first place?_

Many questions occupied Lip’s head as found herself on the ninth floor, gasping for air. No, she shook her head, as she carried on. I can’t give up now, not when I haven’t finished my task. 

Reaching the tenth floor, she was still running when she found herself bumping into a masked figure, causing both of them to fall on their back. Lip groaned in pain as she rubbed the top of the helmet, only to notice his sniper rifle hanging around his armour. 

She snatched her blaster and pulled the trigger only for her weapon to get kicked from her grasp. “Not today, clone,” the masked figure spoke as he tried to speed away from him. Fortunately, Lip climbed on the banisters and punched him, holding him down on the ground. “You are under arrest for attempting to murder Senator Chuchi,” she told him, in a hoarse voice.

“Well, well, well,” he chuckled as he glanced at her, realizing that he's dealing with a lady. “Looks like I’ve found myself getting caught by a fair lady.”

“What?” she wondered, confused.

Taking advantage of her, he slammed her on the floor and snatched her weapon, to her dismay. “Oh no, you don’t,” she screamed as she used her elbows to aim at his eyes, only to be grabbed. “Oh, you are one feisty gal, aren’t ya?” he teased, leaving her frustrated.

“I don’t have time, lover boy,” Lip snarked, rolling her eyes beneath her helmet. She tightened her fist and jabbed him, only for her assailant to laugh at her. “Are we going to do this all day, sweetheart? I have other things to do.”

“Like what, killing a kind politician? I won’t let that happen.”

“Is she, though?” he gave her a benefit of doubt. “She’s just like any other politicians, corrupted and apathetic to everyone else around them.”

He was right about that, Lip thought, though it’s coming from a person who was hired to kill a senator just for money and status. She stretched out her legs and jabbed his neck, pushing him against the wall. “Well, my love, if you wanted to be rough, then just say so.”

Lip clenched her teeth as she lunged towards him, only for the assassin to drag her by her hips and throw her all the way down the ground floor. Within a second, she felt her back shattered as she landed on her back. She felt a metallic taste on her lips as she glanced at the assassin, who was about to head out of the emergency door.

“Sorry, dear,” he said, in a mocking tone. “I guess we’ll see each other next time if there is a next time.”

She weakly locked her fist as she tried to get up from the ground to no avail. The last thing she heard before her vision turned black was Commander Fox’s voice through her comlink.


	6. Chapter 6

“Lip, can you hear me?” Fox asked frantically, with Riyo clinging her arms around him. “Lip, are you there?”

He had been attempting to contact her more than once, but so far, he received no answer from her. This was unlike his vod’ika at all. He knows that Lip would check in every half an hour and since it has been more than the usual timing, his palms felt clammy underneath his gloves. 

Riyo is aware that they are both in a distressing situation right now, with both of them hiding underneath a bunker that was set up for Republic officials in case of an emergency. Their bunker was obviously hidden underground, with no windows at all. 

The room felt suffocating as she could barely breathe, but what little choice does she have? With her assassin still out there, Riyo needs to survive if she has to push for the Clone Rights Act to pass in the Senate. Without her, who will take over and rally for moral supports within the Grand Army of the Republic?

Seeing Fox reaching out for his younger sister made her worried. She doesn’t know much about Lip, except for the fact that she got her name due to her obsession with lipstick, especially the deep red colour that matched her armour. So she made it a point to go to a cosmetic shop and gave her a box of lipsticks, which the clone trooper adored.

Wearing makeup was rare among clones, so Lip happily obliged when her brothers and sisters wanted to wear one as well, especially Yves and Duke. If her lipstick was wearing off, Lip would rush to the refresher and reapply it again, without anyone batting an eye. She may not be able to paint her armour however she wanted, but at least she is able to paint her lips her own way.

“Commander Fox,” a voice replied, which Riyo and Fox recognize as Yves, who was close to Lip. 

“Yves,” he answered her, wondering about Lip’s whereabouts. “Where is Lip? What happened to her?”

“Lip is down,” she told him. “I repeat, Lip is down. She must have been chasing the assassin when he somehow rendered her unconscious.”

“Oh, goodness,” he spoke, trying his best not to panic. “Is she still breathing?”

“She is, Commander, but I’m afraid to report that her head is bleeding right now, and she needs medical attention as soon as possible.”

He glanced at Riyo, who was shocked to hear about the clone trooper’s current condition. “Of course, Yves. Tell the boys to head back to base while you get Lip to the medics as soon as possible. Do you understand, soldier?”

“Yes, commander,” Yves obliged his command, as she hung up from her comlink. Taking off his helmet, Fox groaned as he rubbed between his temples, hoping to relieve the pain in his head. 

First, Riyo almost got herself killed twice, and now, Lip is unconscious, he thought, as he leaned against the metallic wall. Is it that hard for the universe to give me a fucking break just for once?

“Hard day, isn’t it?” Riyo said, putting her hand on his shoulder, making him shudder for a moment. 

“Unfortunately, yes,” he nodded, staring blankly at the blank ceiling. “It seems that the assassin had Lady Luck by their side today.”

“Fox, I’m really sorry about what happened to Lip,” she sympathized. “She was a good person, and she doesn’t deserve to be suffering from her pain right now.”

“So do I, Riyo,” he deadpanned. “But what can I do except to get her patched up? The Chancellor is just going to offer thoughts and prayers, that’s all.”

Riyo’s lips tightened. Despite the Chancellor portraying himself as a loving grandfather to the public, it seems that he never cared for all those troops who either injured themselves or died in the line of duty. She wants to believe that the Republic is the virtuous side of the war, but they don’t even bother to lift a finger to help.

They always pointed out how the Separatists enslaved an entire planet into producing droids, but yet the Republic treats their clone troopers worse. Some senators pointed out the treatment of their soldiers, but their voices are often drowned out by the cries to increase wages among senators and government officials while ignoring the minimum wages, which was stagnant for the past decade.

If Pantora were to leave the Republic, they would be vulnerable to pirates and warlords that wished to steal from the people, but if they stay, they have to obey whatever terms and conditions that the government wants from them. Riyo could join the Separatists, but then again, she doesn’t trust Count Dooku either.

This was arguably the hardest choice she had ever made, according to Riyo Chuchi. Her mother always advised her that if she was confronted with such a path, she would have to list down the pros and cons of both sides and evaluate which one works best for her. It seems easy in theory, but in practice, not so much.

She has listed down the pros and cons of staying in the Republic versus joining with the Separatist Alliance, but all she ever achieved was knocking herself on a wall, figuratively. Sometimes, her mother’s advice works, and sometimes, it doesn’t. As always, if she’s stuck at a crossroad, she’ll have to figure everything out by herself through trial and error.

“Thoughts and prayers aren’t the only things that will make things better,” she remarked, going back to the conversation they were having. “I mean, you can use it to soothe someone who's in pain, but it won't solve the problem. That's what I can say about it.”

“You have a point there, Ri,” he cracked a slight smile. “Yeah, I just wish more people could do something rather than just wishing that things get better, you know.”

Riyo could stare at his smile as she solemnly thought about all the lives that risked themselves just to protect her, including the doctors and nurses in the hospital that she was treated. She felt that they deserved more than well, since they worked day and night to make sure that people's lives were saved.

At one point, the Senate planned on cutting funds for healthcare, which irked her so much. Citizens were already suffering from debt due to medical bills and yet most politicians just looked away, like how they looked away when sex workers had one of the highest mortality rates on Coruscant and Outer Rim Territories, after soldiers, policemen, and firefighters.

“Yeah, I wish people in the Senate had more empathy for people around them, especially the citizens of the Republic.”

“Oh well,” Fox sighed. “You can't always do everything, no matter how hard you tried to fight.”

Her lips curved downwards when she heard Fox's comlink beeping from his wrist. “You should take that.”

He gave a nod as he answered the call, only to hear a familiar voice from his rank. “Commander, your troops are expecting you,” Thorn informed him. “They just came back from their mission.”

“I'll be there, Thorn,” he affirmed. “But what about the senator? I can't just leave her all alone, exposed to danger.”

“I'll take over with some of my troops. You should tend to your troops, especially Lip.”

Reminded by the fact that one of his younger sisters was injured, Fox had no other choice but to do what Thorn told him. After all, duty comes first, especially during wartime.” 

“Alright then, I'll be there as soon as possible. Commander Fox out.”

As he hung up, he put on his helmet and headed towards the door, with the Pantoran senator's eyebrow furrowed. “Well, I hope I get to see you soon.”

“Don't worry, senator, you'll be fine with Thorn. Besides, we might be receiving new instructions from the Chancellor.”

“Good luck, Commander, and be careful out there.”


	7. Chapter 7

“Ah, Commander Fox,” Palpatine greeted him, as the Marshal Clone Commander of the Coruscant Guard. “I have been expecting you. Come, take a seat, please. We have a lot to discuss.”

Goosebumps sprouted on his skin as the door slid by itself. Even though his office has a large space, with some ornaments on his desk as decorations, he felt cold for some reason. “Of course, Chancellor,” he answered, trying not to stutter as he took a seat, facing him.

“It seems that the assassin that you have been pursuing has gotten away easily,” the Chancellor pointed out, giving him a crooked smile. “Is that true, Commander?”

Fox gulped as he held his hands together, taking a deep breath underneath his helmet. “Yes, Chancellor. They took down some of my troops, including my best one, Lip.”

“That's a shame,” he expressed his sympathy, much to Fox's dismay. “I'm sure he will heal as soon as possible and get back to his duty.”

_Lip is a girl,_ Fox grunted, tightening his fist to punch his superior in the face, inside his head of course. He wouldn't dare to hit the Chancellor himself and get decommissioned just because he lacks empathy towards his younger sister, who was lying unconscious on the stony ground, with blood flowing from her head.

No, no. Of course, he wouldn't dare. He was supposed to get over it and move on with his duty as a clone, not giving a damn if Lip survived or not. Sometimes, he just wished that he was born from a mother's womb, where he would be loved and cared for instead of being treated like a disposable piece of garbage.

“Commander?” Palpatine called him, snapping him back into reality, where he had to answer for the failed mission to capture Riyo's assassin.

“Yes, Chancellor,” he sighed. “I think we should get more men to protect the senator. It seems that everywhere she goes, the assassin seems to be one step ahead, sir.”

“That won't be necessary, Commander.”

His eyes widened as he glanced at him, who stood up from his seat. “What are you saying, Chancellor?”

“I feel that we need to request additional help from the Jedi Council,” he told him. “I'm sure they would be far more capable to protect Senator Chuchi and bring this assassin to justice.”

But they're currently at war, Fox protested inside his head. They wouldn't have the time and luxury to protect a senator from harm.

“With all due respect, Chancellor, my troops and I are more than capable to take down the assassin.”

“I'm sure they are, Commander, but it wouldn't hurt to get some assistance from the Jedi, especially Master Skywalker and Master Kenobi. After all, they have protected Senator Amidala in the past, don't you agree?”

He has nothing to say to him now since there were no other ways to defend himself. He could say how much effort his men should put to protect his violet angel from harm, but that would be rebutted with the Chancellor's arguments. After all, he is a politician while Fox is just a soldier, waiting to expire like the rest of them.

“Yes, Chancellor,” he admitted his defeat, as he stood up and gave him a salute. 

“Thank you, Commander,” he gave a smug, as he allowed the door to slide open. “That will be all. I’m sure Master Skywalker and Master Kenobi can take it from here.”

“Yes, Chancellor.”

* * *

Running through the corridors, a pair of twins with red hair, almond-shaped eyes, and heart-shaped lips managed to reach the lift, pressing the button towards the highest floor, which was the Council room. It was the room where Grand Master Yoda and the rest of the members of the Council sat in circles, discussing all kinds of topics with each other, whether it’s the outcome of the war or an internal affair relating to the Jedi Order.

Like most Jedi Knights at war, Lira and Eva just returned from the Battle of Reza, where the casualties of civilians outnumbered the casualties of soldiers that fought hard in the frontline. Though they were barely twelve, the identical twins somehow found themselves surviving every battle they have fought.

They didn’t choose to fight the war, nor to become a Jedi Knight, but they don’t have a say in it, since it was none of their decision, of course. It was obvious that the Council only knighted them too soon since they were losing too many Jedi in the war. But who or what started the war wasn’t really obvious to the both of them, oh no.

Lira and Eva were told by their respective mentors that the war had started because of the assassination of Senator Amidala, whom they were close to. Eva couldn’t believe that a senator who gifted her a lovely doll named Poppy would have someone plotting against her. Lira, on the other hand, wasn’t really surprised, since politicians often conspired with each other to the death.

Lira glanced at her younger twin, who was holding Poppy, and her tooka toy, Stripes, with concern on her face. “You know, I was hoping we would get some rest in our dorm instead of going on another mission,” she complained.

“Well, what can we do about it, Lira?” Eva sighed, rubbing her eyes. “It’s the Council’s Orders after all. We can’t say no to them. Besides, Anakin and Master Kenobi are busy right now.”

“There are tens of thousands of Jedi Knights out there, Evie. Why ask us out of all of them?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “Maybe because they don’t want to cause mischief all over the Temple.”

Lira rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “I get that reasoning, but lately, it seems that we can’t even catch a break. Like every time we finish one mission, we get another, and another, and another, until we puked to death. I don’t even know when was the last time I even slept or ate. I’m just-”

“I get you,” her sister replied, hugging her stuffed toys closer to her. “I just feel that my head is spinning all the time and that I’m starting to hear something that isn’t really there at all. And plus, I hardly see Master Kenobi or Anakin or even Ahsoka. I mean, we do go on missions together from time to time, but it seems that we’re growing distant with them.”

“I could say the same with Master Doyvesky. We do talk to each other through comlink, but I feel that we’re both drifting away from each other, you know.”

They exchanged looks of despair with each other as they reached the Council Chamber, forcing them to hide their distress underneath the masks they wear. “Knight Young,” Yoda spoke, as he greeted the identical twins. “Waiting for you, we have.”

“My apologies, master,” Eva bowed, her hands clasped together. “We just returned from Reza. It was a brutal battle, even though we managed to gain an upper hand in the end.”

Mace Windu leaned slightly forward from his seat, stiffening his posture. “We have an urgent order from the Chancellor. Apparently, Senator Chuchi’s lives have been threatened along with Senator Amidala and Senator Organa and after much discussion, we felt that you both were suitable for the job.”

Both their eyes widened as they silently protested in their mind. Are they out of their mind? Lira wondered. How in Malachor are we going to protect Senator Chuchi from her assassin? Who do they think we are, experts?

“Well,” Eva cleared her throat. “With all due respect, Master Windu, Lira and I have absolutely no confidence in protecting Senator Chuchi. We don’t have the experience to do so and there is a huge percentage that we’ll get ourselves killed during the mission.”

“Not to worry, Eva,” her master, Obi-Wan Kenobi spoke via hologram. “Commander Fox will be there to assist you if both of you have doubts about this mission. Besides, it will be a good experience for both of you.”

“I think you’re missing the point here, master,” Lira raised her points. If we fail to protect the senator, her blood will be on our hands.”

“Understand your doubts, we do,” Yoda smiled. “But ignoring the Chancellor’s order, we shall not.”

“I believe the both of you are more than capable to track down this assassin,” Plo Koon gave a word of encouragement. “Lira, I am confident that you have the technology to bring this killer to justice. And Eva, while diplomacy is your biggest strength, I see your potential in espionage, which is why we are sending both of you for this mission.”

“Both of you will be laying low and putting on a disguise as Senator Chuchi’s servant. This briefing about the mission must stay in this chamber itself. We do not risk potential spies to leak any vital information to the assassin, understood?”

“Yes, master,” Eva bowed.

“May the Force be with you both.”


	8. Chapter 8

“Ah, Commander Fox,” Palpatine greeted him, as the Marshal Clone Commander of the Coruscant Guard. “I have been expecting you. Come, take a seat, please. We have a lot to discuss.”

Goosebumps sprouted on his skin as the door slid by itself. Even though his office has a large space, with some ornaments on his desk as decorations, he felt cold for some reason. “Of course, Chancellor,” he answered, trying not to stutter as he took a seat, facing him.

“It seems that the assassin that you have been pursuing has gotten away easily,” the Chancellor pointed out, giving him a crooked smile. “Is that true, Commander?”

Fox gulped as he held his hands together, taking a deep breath underneath his helmet. “Yes, Chancellor. They took down some of my troops, including my best one, Lip.”

“That's a shame,” he expressed his sympathy, much to Fox's dismay. “I'm sure he will heal as soon as possible and get back to his duty.”

_Lip is a girl,_ Fox grunted, tightening his fist to punch his superior in the face, inside his head of course. He wouldn't dare to hit the Chancellor himself and get decommissioned just because he lacks empathy towards his younger sister, who was lying unconscious on the stony ground, with blood flowing from her head.

No, no. Of course, he wouldn't dare. He was supposed to get over it and move on with his duty as a clone, not giving a damn if Lip survived or not. Sometimes, he just wished that he was born from a mother's womb, where he would be loved and cared for instead of being treated like a disposable piece of garbage.

“Commander?” Palpatine called him, snapping him back into reality, where he had to answer for the failed mission to capture Riyo's assassin.

“Yes, Chancellor,” he sighed. “I think we should get more men to protect the senator. It seems that everywhere she goes, the assassin seems to be one step ahead, sir.”

“That won't be necessary, Commander.”

His eyes widened as he glanced at him, who stood up from his seat. “What are you saying, Chancellor?”

“I feel that we need to request additional help from the Jedi Council,” he told him. “I'm sure they would be far more capable to protect Senator Chuchi and bring this assassin to justice.”

_But they're currently at war,_ Fox protested inside his head. _They wouldn't have the time and luxury to protect a senator from harm._

“With all due respect, Chancellor, my troops and I are more than capable to take down the assassin.”

“I'm sure they are, Commander, but it wouldn't hurt to get some assistance from the Jedi, especially Master Skywalker and Master Kenobi. After all, they have protected Senator Amidala in the past, don't you agree?”

He has nothing to say to him now since there were no other ways to defend himself. He could say how much effort his men should put to protect his violet angel from harm, but that would be rebutted with the Chancellor's arguments. After all, he is a politician while Fox is just a soldier, waiting to expire like the rest of them.

“Yes, Chancellor,” he admitted his defeat, as he stood up and gave him a salute. 

“Thank you, Commander,” he gave a smug, as he allowed the door to slide open. “That will be all. I’m sure Master Skywalker and Master Kenobi can take it from here.”

“Yes, Chancellor.”

* * *

Running through the corridors, a pair of twins with red hair, almond-shaped eyes, and heart-shaped lips managed to reach the lift, pressing the button towards the highest floor, which was the Council room. It was the room where Grand Master Yoda and the rest of the members of the Council sat in circles, discussing all kinds of topics with each other, whether it’s the outcome of the war or an internal affair relating to the Jedi Order.

Like most Jedi Knights at war, Lira and Eva just returned from the Battle of Reza, where the casualties of civilians outnumbered the casualties of soldiers that fought hard in the frontline. Though they were barely twelve, the identical twins somehow found themselves surviving every battle they have fought.

They didn’t choose to fight the war, nor to become a Jedi Knight, but they don’t have a say in it, since it was none of their decision, of course. It was obvious that the Council only knighted them too soon since they were losing too many Jedi in the war. But who or what started the war wasn’t really obvious to the both of them, oh no.

Lira and Eva were told by their respective mentors that the war had started because of the assassination of Senator Amidala, whom they were close to. Eva couldn’t believe that a senator who gifted her a lovely doll named Poppy would have someone plotting against her. Lira, on the other hand, wasn’t really surprised, since politicians often conspired with each other to the death.

Lira glanced at her younger twin, who was holding Poppy, and her tooka toy, Stripes, with concern on her face. “You know, I was hoping we would get some rest in our dorm instead of going on another mission,” she complained.

“Well, what can we do about it, Lira?” Eva sighed, rubbing her eyes. “It’s the Council’s Orders after all. We can’t say no to them. Besides, Anakin and Master Kenobi are busy right now.”

“There are tens of thousands of Jedi Knights out there, Evie. Why ask us out of all of them?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “Maybe because they don’t want to cause mischief all over the Temple.”

Lira rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “I get that reasoning, but lately, it seems that we can’t even catch a break. Like every time we finish one mission, we get another, and another, and another, until we puked to death. I don’t even know when was the last time I even slept or ate. I’m just-”

“I get you,” her sister replied, hugging her stuffed toys closer to her. “I just feel that my head is spinning all the time and that I’m starting to hear something that isn’t really there at all. And plus, I hardly see Master Kenobi or Anakin or even Ahsoka. I mean, we do go on missions together from time to time, but it seems that we’re growing distant with them.”

“I could say the same with Master Doyvesky. We do talk to each other through comlink, but I feel that we’re both drifting away from each other, you know.”

They exchanged looks of despair with each other as they reached the Council Chamber, forcing them to hide their distress underneath the masks they wear. “Knight Young,” Yoda spoke, as he greeted the identical twins. “Waiting for you, we have.”

“My apologies, master,” Eva bowed, her hands clasped together. “We just returned from Reza. It was a brutal battle, even though we managed to gain an upper hand in the end.”

Mace Windu leaned slightly forward from his seat, stiffening his posture. “We have an urgent order from the Chancellor. Apparently, Senator Chuchi’s lives have been threatened along with Senator Amidala and Senator Organa and after much discussion, we felt that you both were suitable for the job.”

Both their eyes widened as they silently protested in their mind. _Are they out of their mind?_ Lira wondered. _How in Malachor are we going to protect Senator Chuchi from her assassin? Who do they think we are, experts?_

“Well,” Eva cleared her throat. “With all due respect, Master Windu, Lira and I have absolutely no confidence in protecting Senator Chuchi. We don’t have the experience to do so and there is a huge percentage that we’ll get ourselves killed during the mission.”

“Not to worry, Eva,” her master, Obi-Wan Kenobi spoke via hologram. “Commander Fox will be there to assist you if both of you have doubts about this mission. Besides, it will be a good experience for both of you.”

“I think you’re missing the point here, master,” Lira raised her points. If we fail to protect the senator, her blood will be on our hands.”

“Understand your doubts, we do,” Yoda smiled. “But ignoring the Chancellor’s order, we shall not.”

“I believe the both of you are more than capable to track down this assassin,” Plo Koon gave a word of encouragement. “Lira, I am confident that you have the technology to bring this killer to justice. And Eva, while diplomacy is your biggest strength, I see your potential in espionage, which is why we are sending both of you for this mission.”

“Both of you will be laying low and putting on a disguise as Senator Chuchi’s servant. This briefing about the mission must stay in this chamber itself. We do not risk potential spies to leak any vital information to the assassin, understood?”

“Yes, master,” Eva bowed.

“May the Force be with you both.”


	9. Chapter 9

Flipping the pages of a heavy book that was found in a drawer, Riyo was on top of her temporary bed, both her legs crossed. Her palms rested on her cheeks as she fixated on every single word on the pages of the book, or at least tried to focus.

With Commander Fox gone for a while, Riyo had no other choice but to stay with Thorn for a while. It's not that she doesn't like him, of course, but she felt a little stiff around him.

Unlike Fox, Thorn has unkempt hair, as if he hasn't even groomed it after he woke up from his slumber. He hasn't trimmed his beard for God knows how long and his posture was more composed, laying on the bunk right next to Riyo's.

The book was titled 'How to Stay Calm in a Tense Situation', but Riyo felt that her heart was racing faster and faster every few minutes that passed.  _ Think happy thoughts,  _ she reads.  _ Tell yourself that everything will be okay eventually. _

She turned to the next page of the book and licked her dry lips with her saliva, taking a deep breath. Move around the house, don't lock yourself in a secluded area all the time, or you'll feel even more anxious.

Easy for them to say, she rolled her eyes as she skipped a few pages, hoping to find a piece of helpful advice to relieve her. Think happy thoughts, tell yourself that everything will be okay eventually, move around the house, and don't lock yourself in a secluded area, or you'll feel more anxious.

Shutting the book tightly, Riyo sighed as she placed her book further away from her. For a self-help book, it seems to do the complete opposite, at least for me.

“Everything alright, senator?” Thorn asked, noticing her shoulders tensed. 

“I'm alright, Thorn, thank you,” she smiled. “How about you? Are you okay?”

“I'll be fine, ma'am, thank you very much.”

She gave a nod as she got up from her bed and poured herself a cup of water, glancing at the clone commander, who was in charge of watching her while Fox was gone. “Would you like a cup?”

“I'm alright, ma'am, thank you,” he declined, as he took a glimpse of the square clock on the wall. 

Returning to her original position, she gulped down her water and breathed in relief as she wet her lips. As she placed her cup on the drawer at the end of her bunk, she spotted the commander's eyes glued to his datapad, assuming that he was checking in with his brothers and sisters.

“Everything alright, Thorn?” she raised her question, hoping to break the uneasy silence between them. 

“Yes, ma'am,” he answered. “It seems to me that Fox is still occupied with the Chancellor.”

“I see,” she curved her lips downwards. “I was sure that he was done by now since it has been more than three hours.”

“You know Foxy, he’s always overworking himself to death. I told the guy to cut some slacks, but it seems that my words fell into death’s ears.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Riyo chuckled to herself. “I also have to tell him to get some rest after a long day at work, but he doesn’t seem to listen as well.”

“Well, what do you expect? He can be an ass sometimes. That’s how my brother is.”

“Really? He always seemed to be regimented and disciplined.”

“Oh, you would not believe when I tell you everything that happened on Kamino when we were just cadets.”

Her eyes widened as she sat up straight and put her feet on the floor, clutching both her hands together. “Oh, do tell me. Fox hardly talks about himself whenever I ask.”

“Well,” Thorn snickered. “So we all had to wake up really early to train on Kamino. All of us, including Stone, Ares, Odd Eye, and Gowon were all gathered at the mess hall, except for Foxy. At first, I thought that he was probably doing his morning routine in the bathroom as usual, but when we got there at the training simulation, he wasn’t there at all.”

“Ares thought it was unusual for him to never showed up at training at all, so both of us decided to sneak away from there and check on Fox. We went to our barracks and guess what?”

“He wasn’t there at all. Ares panicked, but I told her to calm down and searched in the bathroom instead, and what do you know? He was right there, lying inside the bathroom stall, with a toothbrush inside his mouth.”

Bursting into laughter, Riyo landed on her mattress and held her stomach, as tears streamed from her face. “He was lying on the bathroom floor with a toothbrush in his mouth?”

“I know, right,” Thorn laughed along. “Can you believe a commander who claims to be so disciplined and a rule-follower actually fell asleep while he was in the shower?”

“It's strange that he never told me this before.”

“Well, he told us to not speak about the event again, or he'll quote, kill us in our sleep.”

“That's what siblings are for,” Riyo snorted. “They'll threaten to kill you if you let the cat out of the bag.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he wiped his eyes as he heard the door hissed, signalling him to act natural. “Oh, hey Foxy. Took you long enough to talk with the Chancellor.”

“Whatever, Thorn,” Fox rolled his eyes as he took off his helmet. “There were too many things that happened today anyway.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled as he got up, glancing at Riyo nervously. “Nice talking to you, senator.”

“It's nice talking to you too as well, Thorn,” she smiled sweetly. “Your stories are amusing, and I enjoyed them very much.”

“I'll tell you more someday,” he winked, making Fox groan in frustration. “See you later, lovebirds.”

“Oh, shut up, Thorn,” he snapped as he watched his vod'ika left, much to Riyo's amusement. He sighed as he sat beside her, his helmet in his arms. “So, which story did Thorn told you about?”

Riyo giggled for a moment, before composing herself in a polite manner. “You were found sleeping in the shower with a toothbrush in your mouth.”

“Of course that son of a bitch would tell you that,” Fox crossed his arms, his cheeks turning hot. “He can never shut his trap about the incident, no matter how much I threatened him.”

“But it was hilarious though,” Riyo assured him, squeezing his hands. “You never get to tell me that.”

“It was the most embarrassing moment that haunts me to this day. I don't even know why I passed out in the bathroom that day.”

“We all have our embarrassing moments, Fox. No matter how much you hate, it does shape you into becoming the person you are today.”

“Well, I would sell my soul just to not remember that fiasco.”

“Honestly, I would as well, Fox. But it was still funny, regardless.”

“Are you serious?”

“Well, I'm sorry, okay?” Riyo raised her hands in mid-air. “I didn't mean to hurt you.”

“No, it's not your fault. I should have controlled myself before I said a word to you.”

“But you were-”

Before she could finish her sentence, she and Fox both heard a knock on the door, causing him to jolt from his seat and grabbed his twin pistols. “Who's there?” he barked. 

“Commander Fox, is that you?” a child's voice was heard from outside. “It's me, General Young, the older twin.”

Riyo gazed at Fox as he paced closer to the door, readying his weapons. A child in a secret bunker? That sounds preposterous. “What do you want?”

“The Chancellor sent us here,” Lira informed him. “We were supposed to protect Senator Chuchi as well.”

I don't remember the Chancellor asking for a kid to protect Riyo, he was puzzled. “I was told that General Skywalker and General Kenobi were sent to protect the senator. I wasn’t expecting you to do the job.”

“They're busy again, so he sent us instead since we were available on Coruscant.”

“Let them in, Fox,” Riyo pleaded. “I know them personally.”

“Be careful,” he told her, his arms still gripped on his weapons. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”

She couldn't help but smile as she opened the door, facing the twin girls. She only met Eva once on Orto Plutonia, where Riyo had to make peace with the Talz, who have been on that planet for years. Likewise, she finds her rather shy as she's always holding General Kenobi's hand most of the time, but at the same time, sweet to everyone she meets, Riyo included.

Lira, on the other hand, she never met her. Her eyes widened for a while as she found herself standing in front of two identical little girls, who looked exactly like each other. Since Eva was timid, Riyo would have predicted that Lira would be talkative and jumpy all the time, which was true.

“Hello girls,” the Pantoran senator greeted them. “It's wonderful to see you again, especially you, Eva. You've grown a bit taller since the last time we met.”

“It's nice to meet you too, senator,” Eva shook her hands, before introducing her older twin to Riyo. “Oh, this is Lira, by the way. She's my twin sister, and my best friend as well.”

“Well, come on in,” she welcomed them, gesturing to Fox to put down his blasters. “I think we have a lot to discuss.”


	10. Chapter 10

As Fox sealed the door, Eva shuddered in fear as she sat next to Lira, holding her hands tightly. Despite not having to dread Fox and Riyo's presence, she finds herself drowning in a dimly lit room, with only two beds and a couple of drawers that were blanketed with dust.

Her stomach roared as she had only a ration bar on the way, prompting her to pull open the drawer and found packets of biscuits. Much to her dissatisfaction, there were no sprinkles or frostings, just dry and bland biscuits.

She usually loves her snacks that are sweet and savoury, such as chocolate chip cookies and snickerdoodle cookies. Eva hardly bakes nowadays since she was always off-planet, but if she's free, she and Lira would use their mini-oven that Padmé gifted to bake their favourites.

Obi-Wan and Vanya would look forward to their cookies along with Anakin, and Ahsoka. They would prepare tea to drink along and have lively conversations to distract themselves from the perils of war. 

She wished for more time with Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka, but for now, she has to focus on defending the senator, whom she only met once. 

“Would you like anything, dear?” Riyo offered. “A glass of water or anything?”

“Yes, please,” Lira nodded, taking a bite of her dry biscuit, not giving a damn about the taste. “We're very thirsty.”

Riyo poured them two cups of water and sat down, facing them. She watched gleefully as the twins munched on their snacks and freshened themselves up, bringing her back to her youth on Pantora, where she would stuff her mouth with hertzoggie, which was filled with coconut and apricot jam.

Fox cleared his throat, catching their attention. A child protecting Riyo from danger? What is the Chancellor even thinking? They all could get themselves killed in just a second. And it will be my fault that I didn't save them on time, as usual.

“Commander?” Eva spoke, wiping the crumbs off her mouth. “Are you okay?”

“I'm alright, General,” he replied, “Though you’ll have to watch the footage that we found.” 

He switched on his hologram, displaying the footage that he collected from the building in front of the hospital. Lira and Eva watched as they both squinted at the gory sight, especially where Lip fell off from the stairs. A clone trooper getting shot at is one thing, but being shoved off the ledge made their goosebumps sprouted on their skin.

“Is she alright?” Eva asked, her voice laced with concern.

“Lip is currently hospitalised for her injuries,” Fox sighed. “Though she didn't capture him, she did help us to identify who is our killer through security, but for now, we’ll have to wait until she wakes up, if she even survived the fall in the first place.”

Lira swallowed her crackers and studied the masked figure on the footage. She thought he was tall and was bewildered that he had superior combat skills to take down Lip single-handedly. In her experience, clone troopers are capable of physical combat and blaster shooting, since she was taught by Commander Tori and ARC Trooper Minnie themselves.

Tori thought that it would be useful for the girls to hold a blaster, just in case they misplaced their lightsabers like their masters would. Playing the footage for the second time, Lira gulped down her cup of water as she watched the masked figure bump into Lip, causing both of them to land on their backs.

Grabbing her pen and crumpling notepad from her pocket, she closed her eyes and reached through the Force, only to find herself in the same building where the fight took place. The floors were made out of stone and the white paint of the walls was fading away with age, along with some cracks and stains all over it.

_Lira heard a thump behind her and found both Lip and the assassin on the floor, groaning, when the clone identified the sniper rifle hanging around his chest. Before Lira could move away, Lip grabbed her blaster and pushed the trigger with her fingers, only for her weapon to kick from her clutches. “Not today, clone.”_

_She ran up a few stairs and watched as Lip climbed on the bannisters and punched the side of the mask, smashing him on the ground. “You’re under arrest for attempting to murder Senator Chuchi.”_

_“Well, well, well,” the assassin let out a chuckle, smiling underneath his mask. “Looks like I’ve found myself getting caught by a fair lady.”_

_Lira rolled her eyes as Lip was processing what he meant when he held her waist, and pinned her against the floor, and seized her weapon. “Oh no, you don’t,” Lip shouted as she jabbed him in the eye, only for her attack to be blocked._

_“Oh, you’re one feisty gal, aren’t ya?” he needled, caressing her chin._

_“I don’t have time for this,” she spat as she clenched her fist and hit him on the other cheek, only to receive a mocking laugh. “Are we going to do this all day, sweetheart? I have other things to do.”_

_“Like what, killing a kind politician? I won’t let that happen.”_

_“Is she, though?” the assassin doubted. “She’s just like any other politicians, corrupted and apathetic to everyone else around them.”_

_Lip fumed as she kicked him by the neck, pinning him against the wall. “Well, my love, if you want to be rough, then just say so.”_

_She lunged towards him but was dragged by her hips and threw her off the bannisters, causing her to land on her back. Lira jumped down and let out a blood-curdling scream as blood flowed from her helmet. Her heartbeat accelerated as she glanced at the assassin, who looked down at her. “Sorry dear,” he laughed. “I guess we’ll see each other next time, if there is a next time.”_

Putting down her pen, Lira palpitated as blood leaked from her nose, prompting her to wipe it off. “Are you alright?” Riyo questioned, as she poured another cup of water for the child, pressing a wet towel on her forehead. “Goodness, your body is a bit warm.”

“I’m okay, senator,” she bobbed her head, passing her notepad to Eva. “Just a bit of a headache, that’s all.”

“Will your sister be okay?” Fox wondered as Eva handed him her notes. “She seems to be paler than usual.”

“She’ll be fine,” Eva assured him. “Besides, she jotted down whatever she saw from the footage, which will help us in our investigation.”

He couldn't believe his eyes. Everything that was written down on the notepad, was exactly the same as the report that Yves had handed him earlier. The only difference was the dialogues that she heard between Lip and the assassin. Since there was no audio in the security footage, he didn’t know what happened between the both of them but now, he learned a thing or two about the incident.

Fox could feel the sexual tension between Lip and the assassin, judging by the dialogues. From praising the way she looks, even though she never took off his helmet, to teasing her in a sexual manner, his eyes squinted as he put down Lira’s notepad. This wasn’t the first time that Lip was harassed in this manner, and no matter how much he wants to complain to the Chancellor, he can’t do anything about it, since the system is against them. 

But at the same time, he was in awe that a child could manage to record everything, without missing out on crucial details. “I have to say, I'm impressed with both your efforts,” he praised. “You both found out his motives, which we admittedly find that difficult, though it was rather weak if I have to say so myself.”

“Yeah,” shrugged Eva. “Hating on politicians is a pretty weak motive, especially towards Senator Chuchi, who was reputable as the noble politician among dishonesty.”

“True. If they find politicians so rotten, they wouldn't have targeted her in the first place.”

“Yeah,” shrugged Eva. “Hating on politicians is a pretty weak motive, especially towards Senator Chuchi, who was reputable as the noble politician among dishonesty.”

“True. If they find politicians so rotten, they wouldn't have targeted her in the first place.”

“I have a feeling someone who hated her so much would have paid him to kill her and the rest of her allies as well.”

“But who would have hated me so much that they would hire someone to kill me?” Riyo butted in their conversation, much to Fox's delight. 

“Cowards,” Fox answered her. “That particular person probably didn't want to get their hand dirty, so he hired someone else to do their dirty work instead.”

“But the question is, who hired the assassin?” Eva hummed, scratching beneath her chin. “And why would they target you and your friends in the first place?”

“Honestly, I don't even know where to begin,” Riyo exclaimed. “There are too many endless strings, which leads us to nowhere.”

“Well, we could start in the underworld,” Lira suggested. “It's where scums like him would hide out from authority figures.”

“A good place to start, but it won't be easy to find him,” Fox warned the twins. “After all, he got away from us twice.”

“Don't worry, we'll do our best to find him,” Eva walked towards the door. “For now, you'll have to protect the senator.”

“I will, General, thank you.”

“You don't have to address me by my rank, Fox,” she chuckled. “Just call us by our names, Eva and Lira.”

For a moment, he was taken aback. First-name basis? That's unusual. Not even Skywalker or the Chancellor would allow such things. “Of course, General,” he stuttered, leaving Lira snickering to herself.

As she stepped outside the room, Lira detected an explosive attached to the surface of the wall in front of them, making her eyes widened. “Everyone, take cover!” she yelled at the top of her lungs, causing Fox and Riyo to hide underneath their bunk. 

Lira shut the door as fast as lightning and pushed Eva away from her, but it was too late. The sliding door blew up in her face, causing her to hit her head on the durasteel wall. She felt a huge pressure trampling through her skin as blood oozing from her wound, tasting her own bruise on her lip.

“Lira!” Eva whined, underneath the bunk with Fox and Riyo. The older twin coughed as she lifted the door away with the Force, revealing scratches and burn marks on her face and arms. 

Eva panted as she helped her get up, hoping that she would be okay. “Come on, let's get you to the med-”

“Find the assassin,” she cuts her sister off, ignoring the throbbing pain all over her body. “I'll get the senator and the commander out of here.”

“But you-”

“Just go!” she scolded, rubbing her forehead. “I'll be okay, Evie. I promise”

Eva tightened her lips as she forced open the vent and crawled inside, leaving Lira alone with Fox and Riyo. 

“Are you both alright?” Lira approached them feeling her head spinning like a top. 

“Yes, General,” Fox answered, as he checked on Riyo, who was smudged. “We need to get out of here as soon as possible. Any ideas?”

“I'm open to suggestions,” Lira's croaked, holding onto the side of her torso. 

“The medbay would be safe for all of us,” Riyo recommended. “After all, Lira needs to get herself patched up.”

“I'm not sure whether it's a good idea to hide out in the medbay,” Fox doubted. “After all, Riyo was attacked at a hospital before this.”

“Do you have a better idea, Commander?” Lira whooped, only to find blood on her earth-coloured gloves. Fox grumbled in frustration as he had no idea where else to go, besides the med-bay.

“Then I guess we have no other choice then,” he gave up thinking. “Let's hope the assassin isn't waiting for us there.”

“Lead the way, commander,” Riyo gave him a trusting smile.


	11. Chapter 11

Kicking the grille with both her feet, Eva landed in an empty corridor, which was lit in red lights. With her surgical face mask on to shield her from smoke, she placed her soggy palms on the hilt of her lightsaber as she tiptoed like a mouse, hoping not to scare off the assassin. 

She could sense his presence surrounding her, but it would only be a matter of time before he revealed himself. This wasn’t the first time that she had to deal with a bounty hunter, and unlike her last encounter, Eva discovered their tactics through her readings in the library.

Assassins are proficient in stealth, as they often use various skills to take a life within a flash, without getting caught. One of their prowess is their speed. Having the capability to dash like Hermes is the most important way for an assassin to dodge from the crime scene they have created. If they’re not swift enough, then their whole operation will crumble like an anthill. If they succeed, however, then they get paid, big time.

Another important technique that an assassin has to master is their method of killing. Some assassins rely on their trusty sniper rifle to slay their victims. It is the fastest method, according to Eva, but they needed to have a good aim since they had only one shot. If they aimed crudely, they would be exposed. There are also assassins who are more subtle, which is much more deadly than the first one.

This certain type of assassin would utilise their charisma and wits to lure their prey into a trap. They can blend in perfectly well with the crowd. For all Eva sees, the assassin could be her neighbours, a friend, or even a sweet old lady who smiled at you in the hoverbus. Eva’s arms trembled whenever she had to head to the city to run some errands. 

The world is a treacherous place and not everyone has good intentions, especially people like the Trade Federation, who piled up a pot of gold from both sides of the war just for the sake of profit. For some reason, Eva speculated how they aren’t arrested by the Galactic Republic, even when there was solid proof. Somehow, they faced no form of repercussions.

Eva rubbed the back of her neck as she passed by a sealed door, which stored cleaning equipment for the janitors to use. She smirked to herself, figuring out he was inside and was waiting for her to turn the other way so that he could escape within a flash.

The third skill that an assassin requires is finding a good spot to kill. It can be anywhere, from the corner of an abandoned building to the cramped ventilation pipes. The location must be a blind spot for passers-by and potent in carrying out their job. A wide-open space wouldn't work out since it would be easier for the authorities to catch them.

It's tempting for Eva to just burst open the door and corner him, but that would mean the assassin would pounce on her and escape easily. No, that's not what Commander Fox wanted. He wishes that the assassin be caught and brought to justice for attempting to murder a senator, assault, and destruction of public property.

“Guess I’ll check the reactor,” she purposely spoke in a loud volume, hoping the assassin would hear. “It’s a good hiding spot for our killer.”

As she took a few steps forward, the storage door beside her hissed opened, making Eva turn around and dived towards the assassin, crushing his neck. “I got you,” she exclaimed, restricting his airflow. 

The assassin threw her off and got up, but Eva held him with the Force. "You're not going anywhere, you fuckface."

“You have a potty mouth for a child your age,” he gleamed. “Also, are the Republic out of Jedi?”

“I may be a kid but I'm smarter than you,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes. 

“Isn't that obvious? I mean, you seem to know a lot about us assassins. Very impressive.”

“All you have to do is to study how your mind works. It's that simple.”

“Oh, I'm not doing this for the money,” he retorted, shaking his head. “In fact, I'm not even here to get paid by my client.”

Eva furrowed her eyebrows. “That's just bullcrap. What kind of assassin would kill Senator Chuchi just to not get paid by their client? Doesn’t she have a really high price on her head? Why go through all the hard work just to not reap the reward in the end?”

“Kid, you don't understand. In your mind, you think that Senator Chuchi is someone who could never do wrong in her life but you're wrong. She's not all angelic and pure. She's a politician. Politicians are not all good and bad. They lie, they cheat, they steal. That's what they do, no matter how good their intentions are. Seems harsh, kid, but hey, that's life for you.”

She tightened her lips as she stared at the ground. He has a good point. Even if a senator wants to do good for the people, they would have to resort to dishonesty if they were left with no other choice. Padmé used her as access to head to Raxus Prime so that she could make peace between the Republic and the Separatists, and Eva ended up in a heap of trouble because of that.

Heck, even the Chancellor took advantage of the assassination plot against Senator Amidala to declare war against the Separatist and stayed in the Senate, even though his term was supposed to end earlier. Eva knows that Riyo treated Lira with kindness, such as wiping the blood off her nose and soothing her from a headache, but she isn’t really sure how deceptive Riyo can be, especially when she genuinely smiled at them.

“You’re wrong about Senator Chuchi,” Eva denied. “She would never steal from the people. She was outspoken towards injustices in the Senate.”

“Is she, though?” the assassin raised a question. “If she cared so much about us common folks, then why are they suffering more and more? Why are people forcing themselves to starve just to pay their medical bills? Why are people being forced out of their homes? And most importantly, why are there still orphans roaming around the streets, begging for food? Can you answer that, kid?”

She can’t. To be fair, she hardly knows a thing or two about politics, except that the Republic are the good guys while the Separatists are the bad guys. And yet, when Eva was in Raxus Prime with Padmé, she met Lux Bonteri, who was the son of the late Senator Mina Bonteri. Surprisingly, Mina welcomed both of them with open arms and was willing to answer her questions on the droid army with patience.

Lux, on the other hand, made her realize that not everything was black and white. She remembered when they had a long discussion as they were walking side-by-side. From what she remembered, he asked her whether she met any Separatist leaders, to which she could only answer none of his questions since Grievous and Ventress don't count at all. She learned that people in Lux's school thought of the Jedi as the ones who started the war, which made her aware of their perspectives of the Jedi, which she and Lira were so devoted to their rules throughout their lives.

She didn't choose to be in the war or to be trained by the Jedi Council. All Eva wanted was to play with her toys, dance to ballet, join theatres, or even perform her own tricks in gymnastics. That's all she has ever dreamed of. She recalled the time when she used to sing 'O Holy Night' when she was around seven years old during Life Day. She wore a red dress and red shoes while she was singing that song. It was one of the happiest memories she ever had.

“Eva,” she heard her sister reach her comm. “Are you there?”

Eva blinked twice, only to be punched on the nose by the masked figure. “Sorry, kid, but I have things to take care of,” he sighed, as he sprinted past her.

“You're not going anywhere,” she growled, as she ignited her lightsaber and spun towards him, but he grabbed his blaster from his holster and pulled the trigger, hitting her left shoulder. 

She didn't have time to deflect the blast, so she ended up lying on the floor, moaning in pain. She could feel the wound stinging on her shoulder as her saber was not in her grasp anymore. "You son of a bitch," Eva cursed, holding back her tears.

  
“See you soon, kiddo,” he gave her a small salute as he disappeared from her sigh, much to her frustration. Letting her tears flow down her cheeks, her nose sniffled as her arms trembled.  _ How am I going to explain this to Commander Fox and Lira? _


	12. Chapter 12

Applying a drop of antiseptic onto a cotton pad, Riyo took a deep breath and dabbed tenderly on Lira's bare chest, much to the child's soft whimper. Lira could barely breathe as she felt her heart was about to fall off. Her ribs were on fire as her cheeks were scalding with splinters of the durasteel door.

“It's alright, Lira,” Riyo held her hand, as she reapplied the antiseptics on a different cotton pad. “You'll get better eventually, I promise.”

That's what the 11-year-old Jedi Knight has to hear whenever she gets bruised. Being prone to accidents and injuries, Lira does her best to be extra wary and watch her steps, before she would smack herself on the blank wall. She's seen with a cast more than often, and gets signatures on them, praying for her speedy recovery.

Eva would be the one who instructs her when there was a wall in front of her, or when the floor is wet. She was the only reason why Lira hasn’t even died from her ludicrous accidents, such as walking out of the window and toppling down a few stories of stairs. 

Though Lira was used to being battered, she felt that it had gotten worse. She was shot in the back with a cannon, she was trapped underneath the debris of sandstones, and was hit in the head by a sniper. She wondered why the Angel of Death never claimed her soul instead of the clones that fought side-by-side with her. 

As a youngling, Lira dreaded death as she didn't want to leave Eva all alone, but now, she finds herself yearning for her life to end. Having to watch her comrades succumbing to death on the battlefield, she frequently gets night terrors on the clones whom she has never gotten to save on time, despite her game plans. 

Grave after grave, she questioned when her time would be up. When will it be her turn to be buried and mourned by the others? She was always close to death, but death always spared her no matter how much she begged for it. To her, the world around her is already over. She doesn't know whether the war will end or when peace will prevail. She doesn't even know whether this battle would be worth it at the end of the day.

Commander Fox may not be a Jedi, but he recognizes that look that Lira gave to Riyo when she was receiving treatment. He has seen his brothers’ and sisters’ reactions whenever they lasted. Some would whimper like Lira did, some just tell the nurse to leave them alone, and others just pleaded for their miserable life to end.

“It's painful,” Lira sobbed, rubbing her eyes. “Can you make this less painful, senator?”

“It's alright, dear,” Riyo said, stroking her hair. “You will be okay, I promise. The pain will go away eventually.”

“Can't you make it go away right now?”

Fox watches as Riyo tightens her lips, shaking her head. “I'm sorry, Lira. I'm not a doctor, so I don't really know how to soothe your pain.”

He sighed as he sat beside the kid. He knows what it was like getting hurt when he was a child. His first injury was when he was just four years old. As usual, he was having physical training with his comrades when he slipped and fell from a high platform, shattering his left leg.

Usually, an adult supervising a child would rush them to the med bay, leaving them under the care of a kind-hearted nurse. But since Fox was only a clone, he was told to report himself to the med bay and follow whatever the medical droid stated to him, even though he could barely walk at all.

He didn't get the empathy he deserved when he was younger, but at least he was glad someone like Riyo would take the initiative to check on Lira and make sure that she's safe and sound. 

“We'll get you to the doctor once this is all over,” he assured her. “I promise that you'll be healed in no time, princess.”

Lira gave him a slight smile as Riyo temporarily draped her wounds with her bandage just to cover them from further infection. She may not be medically trained but at least she has the basic knowledge of the first-aid kits from her parents.

She remembered when she was around six or seven years old. Riyo was sledding down from the mud hill when she tumbled on a rock, causing her to fly from her sled and land on her face. Her body was soaked in mud and her nose was bleeding, much to the horror of her father, who was plowing the rice fields.

Her mother freaked out on her that day, giving a stern lecture on her reckless act and how hard it is to wash her stained clothes. Her father, on the other hand, just wiped her clean and taught her how to patch up her own wounds, just in case. “If you get yourself hurt, just wash your wounds, dry it, and apply some ointment on your cut before patching them up. That way, you will heal faster than you know it.” 

“Riyo?” Fox called her name, making her snap back to reality. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I'm alright, Fox,” nodded Riyo, clearing her throat. “I'm just having a moment, that's all.”

He let out a chuckle, much to her delight. “Well, can't say I blame you, especially whatever happened today.”

“Yeah, today is a terrible day. First, Bibi was hurt, then we were targeted at least twice, and last but not least, Lira got herself hurt in the process of protecting me.”

“Senator,” Lira spoke, pushing strands of her hair behind her ears. “It's not your fault. Things just happen, you know.”

“I just feel that whenever I go, I somehow bring trouble along with me, and it ends up hurting everyone around me, including you and Fox.”

“Ri,” Fox placed his hands on her shoulder. “You can't blame yourself. Our assassin is just smarter than all of us combined here. He is really hard to catch.”

Lira raised one of her eyebrows, noticing that he didn’t acknowledge Eva, who was still out there, catching their killer. “So what about Eva? She hasn't even returned yet.”

Her questions made him bite the tip of his tongue. Usually, Fox would just tell them that things won't work out, even if he knows that it would sadden them, but this was different. He isn't talking to an adult, he's talking to a child.

A child who has seen most of it, but still is inept with dealing with complex emotions. How is he going to explain that her twin sister, who shared the same womb, might not be able to make it? The last thing he wants is to hurt a child’s feelings, which he won’t forgive himself for that. But sometimes, it’s not good to hide the truth, even if it’s too painful to bear.

“Kid,” he gathered his thoughts, with a frown on his face. “I hate to tell you this but-”

Before he could tell her, the door hissed opened, and Eva staggering into the med bay. The side of her tunic was soaked in blood and her hair was disheveled. Lira's face gleamed for a moment, before realising that her younger twin was grasping onto her wound.

“Eva, are you okay?” Lira got down from her seat as she held her sister underneath her shoulder. “Goodness, you're bleeding.”

“I'm sorry, guys,” she moaned, as she clung over Lira's neck. “I let him get away. I'm sorry, I really didn't mean it.”

Fox could only clench his fist tighter as he took a deep breath and approached Eva, who collapsed on her knees. He wasn't mad or disappointed in her, but towards the assassin instead. To hurt a senator he truly cared is one thing, but to hurt a child is something that irked him.

Eva may have been the one who screwed up, but he’s aware that it isn't her fault. He knows that she did everything she could to stop him, but was overpowered by his strength and agility. No matter how much they sought to protect Riyo, the killer will still find a way to take her down, even if it overstepped their moral boundaries.

“It's alright, kiddo,” Fox said, wiping the tears off her cheeks. “You did your best.”

“But I let him get away,” Eva shook her head. “I almost had him, but I let him manipulate me instead. I should have ignored his words and arrested him immediately instead. I-”

“Eva,” Riyo shushed her as she placed her index finger in her lips. “You're not the one to blame. What matters is that you're safe and sound, that's all.”

Eva sniffled as she let Riyo swaddle her arms around her. She screwed up real bad this time. Even with Fox and Riyo persuading them that it wasn't their fault, they both can't help but feel immense guilt within themselves. Now that the assassin has gotten away from their grasp, Riyo's life is still in danger, and they have to do everything they could to protect her from further harm. 

“So, what do we do now?” Lira asked.

He rubbed his temples, figuring out a way to stop the assassin. With everything he planned to safeguard Riyo failed, he had to find an alternative method that may or may not work for all of them.

The bunker is not secure for them anymore, since the assassin had discovered them there in the first place. The hospital is also not safe, since patients and nurses were affected by the attack as well. He's not even sure if Riyo's apartment would shield her from an imminent threat against her, or the girls as well.

With nothing coming up in his mind, Fox would have no other choice but to discuss it with the Chancellor, even if he hates him so much. He hates how much he made him stay up late at night just to fill up that paperwork and how he hardly cares if his siblings got hurt, but what other choice does he have? The Chancellor himself was the one who is the commander-in-chief in this war, and he is the one who runs the show in the first place, so what can he do about it?

Even if he lamented, the Chancellor would just shrug it off and force him to focus on a more important task instead, which Fox despised.

“I'll call for backup,” he answered Lira. “I'll call for backup to pick up the three of you and send you ladies back home. That's the only option I can think of right now.”

“You mean the Jedi Temple?” Eva raised her eyebrows.

“No, to Senator Chuchi's apartment,” he shook his head, putting on his helmet. “You both will be staying with her for a night or two.”

Riyo's brow furrowed as she glanced at the twins, who were holding each other's hands. To her, they both are in no good condition to fight or even get up. What is Fox even thinking? She thought.

“With all due respect, Commander, Lira and Eva need to be treated as soon as possible. They shouldn't be protecting me right now.”

“I'm not asking them to protect you,” he defended himself. “I'm just asking them to stay with you while I'm away. Besides, I'll be sending in the medic along the way as well just in case anything happens.”

“But what about the assassin?” Eva asked. “Won't he come after Senator Chuchi?”

“Commander Thire will take over my shift in the meantime so if there's any doubt, he'll be more than willing to help you. Am I clear?”

Riyo nodded as she took his hand, staring into his deep brown eyes. “Be careful, alright? I don't want you getting hurt as well.” 

“I will, Ri, I promise.”


End file.
